CD REVIEW - JASPER


Jasper
Music by Florian Tessloff
MovieScore Media MMS-09019
22 Tracks 39:33 mins

30-year old German composer Florian Tessloff started out as an assistant to Mark Isham, but last year co-composed the score (with Peter Hinderthuer) for the critically acclaimed The Baader Meinhof Complex. Now he is out on his own, composing the orchestral music for the big screen version of a popular Toons 'n' Tales animated television series from Germany, which focuses on the main character Jasper the penguin.
The album gets underway with the bright and breezy "Jasper's Egg. "More Icebergs" does its best to suggest the vast whiteness of the Antarctic; whilst "Stolen Eggs" presents a nice mix of comedy and villainy, introducing a jaunty, caperesque theme early on. "South Pole Adventures" flows along nicely in suitably adventurous fashion, and here's more villainy afoot in "This is Not a Game," with its strident ending. "He's Green!" is light and comical to begin with, before picking up speed. "Secret Agent Kakapo" alternates between sneaky and mysterious, and more bombastic. After a dark and mysterious opening, "My Little Lucifer" suddenly erupts into a repeating Asian-styled motif. Peaceful strings and harp accompany "Junior's Lullaby." "Find the Right Button" is purposeful; with menacing action for "Lucifer's Rodeo," continuing into "To the Rescue." Calm is restored with the warmth of "You're the Best friend I Ever Had." "The Egg-o-Masher" is a catchy, quirky little track, and is followed by the suitably creepy "Are You Scared?"
"Mission Impossible" is dark, sneaky and mysterious, continuing into "Finding Junior" and "The Temple of Chemistry," where it reaches its conclusion with some brief pacy action ending heroically.
"The Meltdown" and the subsequent "Penguin Ambassador" are the longest cues on the album; the former's initial menace giving way to the kind episodic rhythmic action that would be quite at home in a Bond movie; whilst the latter is much lighter and moves nicely along in celebratory fashion initially, transforming to a quirky, march-like melody, then continuing as before to a peaceful conclusion.
The penultimate track, "We'll Have Another Secret Adventure" is filled with warmth; the score ending in infectious style with the zany "Preparing the Mission."
Go to http://www.moviescoremedia.com/jasper/html to preview tracks and find details of how to download or order a CD copy of this likeable little score.